Curved plate/fin heater exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016123230-A1
Application number	US-201414897138-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 13, 2014
Priority date	Jun 14, 2013
Publication date	May 5, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A plate/fin heat exchanger includes multiple stacked panels defining a curvature. Each of the panels has a first corrugated sheet defining a first set of passages and a second corrugated sheet defining a second set of passages. Each of the corrugated sheets includes multiple aligned corrugations, and the corrugations of the first corrugated sheet are not aligned with the corrugations of the second corrugated sheet. Each of the corrugations has a corrugation height defined as a length of said corrugation tangential to a curvature of the plate/fin heat exchanger, and wherein each of the first corrugated sheets includes axially aligned corrugations defining a wedge shaped radial cross section.

First claim

1 . A turbine comprising:
a compressor section; a combustor in fluid communication with the compressor section; a turbine section in fluid communication with the combustor, a core flowpath passing through said compressor section, said combustor section, and said turbine section; a secondary air flowpath bypassing said compressor section, said combustor section, and said turbine section; and at least one curved plate/fin heat exchangers disposed circumferentially about an axis defined by the turbine engine.

2 . The turbine of claim 1 , wherein each of said at least one curved plate/fin heat exchangers contacts at least one circumferentially adjacent curved plate/fin heat exchanger at a radially inward edge and contacts said at least one circumferentially adjacent curved plate/fin heat exchanger at a radially outward edge such that there is no axial gap between each of said plurality of curved plate/fin heat exchanges and each circumferentially adjacent plate/fin heat exchanger.

3 . The turbine of claim 1 , wherein said at least one curved plate/fin heat exchangers further comprises:
a plurality of stacked panels defining a curvature, each of said panels having a first corrugated sheet defining a first set of passages and a second corrugated sheet defining a second set of passages; each of said first and second corrugated sheets including multiple aligned corrugations, and wherein said corrugations of said first corrugated sheet are not aligned with said corrugations of said second corrugated sheet, and wherein each of said corrugations has a corrugation height defined as a length of said corrugation tangential to a curvature of the plate/fin heat exchanger; and wherein each of said first corrugated sheets includes axially aligned corrugations defining a wedge shaped radial cross section.

4 . The turbine of claim 3 , wherein a radially innermost axially aligned corrugation of each of said first corrugated sheets has a first corrugation height and each axially aligned corrugation has a corrugation height larger than an axially aligned corrugation immediately radially inward, thereby defining said wedge shaped radial cross section.

5 . The turbine of claim 4 , wherein each corrugation on each of said second corrugated sheets has the same corrugation height as each other corrugation on the same corrugated sheet.

6 . The turbine of claim 3 , further comprising an isolation sheet disposed between said first corrugated sheet and said second corrugated sheet of each of said stacked panels.

7 . The turbine of claim 4 , further comprising:
a radially outer wall contacting each of said stacked panels and a radially inner wall contacting each of said stacked panels; wherein one of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall comprises a gas flow input and the other of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall comprises a gas flow output, and wherein said gas flow input and said gas flow output are connected by said second set of passages.

8 . The turbine of claim 7 , wherein each of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall include a plurality of passages, such that gas passing through said second set of passages has a serpentine flowpath and crosses the heat exchanger at least twice.

9 . The turbine of claim 8 , wherein said gas passing through said flowpath passes through the heat exchanger at least four times.

10 . The turbine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one curved plate/fin heat exchanger has a secondary air input on a first axial end and a secondary air output on a second axial end.

11 . A plate/fin heat exchanger comprising:
a plurality of stacked panels defining a curvature, each of said panels having a first corrugated sheet defining a first set of passages and a second corrugated sheet defining a second set of passages; each of said first and second corrugated sheets including multiple aligned corrugations, and wherein said corrugations of said first corrugated sheet are not aligned with said corrugations of said second corrugated sheet, and wherein each of said corrugations has a corrugation height defined as a length of said corrugation tangential to a curvature of the plate/fin heat exchanger; and wherein each of said first corrugated sheets includes axially aligned corrugations defining a wedge shaped radial cross section.

12 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 11 , wherein a radially innermost axially aligned corrugation of each of said first corrugated sheets has a first corrugation height and each axially aligned corrugation has a corrugation height larger than an axially aligned corrugation immediately radially inward, thereby defining said wedge shaped radial cross section.

13 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 12 , wherein each corrugation on each of said second corrugated sheets has the same corrugation height as each other corrugation on the same corrugated sheet.

14 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 11 , further comprising an isolation sheet disposed between said first corrugated sheet and said second corrugated sheet of each of said stacked panels.

15 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 12 , further comprising:
a radially outer wall contacting each of said stacked panels and a radially inner wall contacting each of said stacked panels; wherein one of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall comprises a gas flow input and the other of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall comprises a gas flow output, and wherein said gas flow input and said gas flow output are connected by said second set of passages.

16 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 15 , wherein each of said radially inner wall and said radially outer wall include a plurality of passages, such that gas passing through said second set of passages has a serpentine flowpath and crosses the heat exchanger at least twice.

17 . The plate/fin heat exchanger of claim 16 , wherein said gas passing through said flowpath passes through the heat exchanger at least four times.

18 . A method for conditioning bypass air in a turbine engine comprising the step of:
passing bypass air through a curved plate/fin heat exchanger simultaneous with passing hot air through said curved plate/fin heat exchanger, thereby raising a temperature of said bypass air.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein passing said heated air through said curved plate/fin heat exchanger comprises passing said air radially through said curved plate/fin heat exchanger.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Thomas Michael R

Classifications

• F02C7/185 Primary

  Cooling means for reducing the temperature of the cooling air or gas · CPC title

• F28F3/02

  Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations (F28F3/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02K3/115 Primary

  by means of indirect heat exchange · CPC title

• F28D9/02

  the heat-exchange media travelling at an angle to one another (F28D9/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2250/61

  corrugated · CPC title